The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 35 2025-26 BASKETBALL PREVIEW were coveted by just about every program in the country. The biggest coup, perhaps — Illinois transfer Morez Johnson Jr. (6-9, 250), a built-for-the-Big Ten, physical power forward with more to offer on the offen- sive end than given credit for. Though he's a "banger" and an elite rebounder and defender, Johnson has the potential to be much more after averaging 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds as an Illini frosh. "He's the definition of a beast," assis- tant coach Kyle Church said on the "De- fend the Block" Podcast. "He's physical, he's tough; he's just blue collar through and through. … You add on the improved skill level, the improved jump shot, and I think he's going to be one of the best big guys in the league." May concurred, noting his decision- making came "a long way" this summer. Johnson remained day to day as of Oct. 17 with an unspecified injury, but they hope he'll return soon. "It was more just the reps of putting the ball in his hands," May said. "I said in practice in the summer, we're in educa- tion and experiment mode. We're not in win mode, and I thought he really did a good job of orchestrating offense and be- ing a ball mover. "He wasn't necessarily shooting a lot, but he was moving the ball. … He looked a lot more comfortable toward the end of the summer than he did at the beginning, and he was playing at a high level before he went out with his injury. He's going to have a monster year for us, I'm confident." UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg, mean- while, was the most sought-after player in the portal this year, and May noted that the big man (6-9, 240) recruited Michigan as much as the U-M staff recruited him. He averaged 17.7 points and 11.4 rebounds playing inside and out, but he's going to get more opportunities on the perimeter after what he showed this summer. "I thought before we signed Yaxel, it would be a tall task that we'd have to really fit some things together," May admitted given the glut of big men on the roster. "After coaching Yax this summer and fall, he's a guard. He's even played some point guard. He actually guards point guards better than he does five men, in my opin- ion. He's got a real unique skill set, and he loves to pass it." Almost to a fault at times, he added. They'll need him to score, and he will, having improved his three-point shot this summer, too. Among the bigs passing from the post, though, UCLA transfer Aday Mara (7-3, 255, 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds last year) is the leader here. He's been stronger than expected near the rim and in the midrange game, observers have noted, and he's a great rim protector with his length. Finding minutes for all of them might not be as hard as thought. May has ex- perimented with Lendeborg, Mara and Johnson on the floor at the same time and could use that combination in situations. "Yaxel is as much of a guard as just about anyone on the roster — his versa- tility is unique," May shared. "He volun- tarily started picking up guards and point guards for 94 feet, and he's done as well as anyone on our roster. … "With Morez and Aday playing to- gether, Aday is the lead passer. Morez checks a lot of boxes as far as physical- ity, athleticism. He's kind of our enforcer. He's been out with a minor injury, so we haven't had a chance to tinker as much offensively with those two guys together with spacing and whatnot. But, without a doubt, when you have really good players, they can find ways to play together. And that's how we felt last year with Vlad and Danny. "Yaxel's been awesome when we played him at the stretch five. He's been awe- some when we played him as a playmaker. We have a number of different ways we can play, and it might be game by game, based on matchups. It might be who's playing better that night. We have a lot of questions still to answer." Included among those questions is "What's Will Tschetter's role?" The graduate student was arguably Michigan's best shooter last year, and he's the ulti- mate glue guy. He's lost some weight (now stands 6-8, 230 pounds), is moving well, and is still shooting it at a fantastic clip. His leadership remains paramount, and he's improved his athleticism. "You factor in Will Tschetter, who's be- coming a real shooter — someone who's able to shoot on the move, get it off quick, not just be a spot-up guy — and he's able to defend the ball now," May said. Johnson and Mara have missed some time due to injury, but that's allowed them to experiment even more, May added. True frosh Malick Kordel (7-2, 275) and redshirt freshman Oscar Goodman (6-7, 235) have gotten more opportunity as a result. "The positive of these older guys go- ing out for a week or so is that we've slid Oscar Goodman down to the five to guard bigger guys and then be a stretch five," May said. "Will Tschetter, we moved him back to the five. Necessity forces you to look at some different things and tinker, and because of these minor injuries and illnesses, we've been able to look at dif- ferent combinations. "Malick, before he went out sick last week, had made a big jump. He's probably our most physical player, and he's really CBS Sports' "Candid Coaches" series compiled the anonymous opinions of about 100 college coaches on who was the best X's and O's coach in the country. May tied for sixth in the voting, which was led by Purdue's Matt Painter and UConn's Dan Hurley. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY